The problem around which this thesis is written concerns the relation of myth to social organization in a small society. The society chosen for intensive study is Cape Madge, British Columbia, a Kwakiutl village of the Southern Lekwiltok group on the Northwest coast of North America. That myth and social organization are bound in together in a total system of social relations has been demonstrated for primitive societies by such eminent anthropologists as Raymond Firth, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Sir Peter Buck for the Oceanic area. The material gathered by Boas for the Kwakiutl of the Northwest coast of North America implies the same for traditional Kwakiutl society. Myths interact with all other elements of social structure and organization, so that the total system of social relations in the society is not to be understood without an understanding of the role of myth in providing a wide frame of reference within which the total social behavior of the members of the society becomes significant. This proposition has been accepted into the body of generalizations about primitive society built up In the field of anthropology. It does not Imply a conception of society as an apparatus maintaining the culture as it is, since all cultures are changing by the stresses inherent in social interaction and by the choices open to individuals. The empirical data brought forward in this thesis to support the assumption that myth and social organisation are bound together in a system of social relationships demonstrate that such a system is not closed, but open to adjustment without apparent opposition. This thesis is an attempt to give fuller meaning to the generalisation that the myths of a people are bound into the total system of social relations. The proposition advanced here is that even under conditions of advanced acculturation (to Western European culture) in a small once tribal society, myth will play a part. Where the old myths fade, new ones will arise to take their places in the, changing social context. The alteration of social structure, of social organisation, and of the roles played by individuals will create the need for maintaining some ancient myths that underwrite the worthiness of the individual and group. New myths will arise to justify rapidly changing patterns of behavior under the impact of Euro-American culture. This proposition has been tested and supported by the data derived from field work. Upon the basis of the affirmation of this proposition by data derived in a small society in the process of rapid change, the above hypothesis may be generalised to suggest that in all tribal societies moving rapidly into the orbit of advanced ones, myth will not be lost. Just as social structure, social organization and the roles of individuals will change feat be fitted into new configurations, so myth will not disappear but be transfigured or newly created in order to meet the needs of people for an understanding of their changing existence. The operation of myth and social context In Cape Hudge society today is discussed in this thesis by reference to the operation of myths in two important areas of social organizations social control and values. The exploration of myth in these areas touches upon most aspects of life in the village. Intensive field work was of one month's duration in the summer of 1963 when I lived with my husband and three children in the village but casual contacts and interest in the village had extended over a ten-year period prior to the formal study. The contacts made by my husband, two teen-age children and on pre-school child extended the range of social contacts very considerably. The definition of my position as wife and mother was of prime importance to my ready acceptance. The villagers had happily been introduced to anthropologists through Helen Codere who left behind an atmosphere of admiration and trust. The villagers expressed the opinion that other villages were getting anthropologists interested in them and they thought it was high time for someone from the University to come again. The field work situation could not have been more propitious I wish to express my sincere regard for the great achievements of these people and my thanks for their generosity and hospitality. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

The concern of this thesis is the position of people of alternative genders in Coast Salish culture, not only in the past, but in the present. How were individuals with such a difference treated? What forces constrained them? What factors afforded them opportunity? Were such genders even recognized? With these questions in mind, field work was conducted with the permission of the Std: Id Nation throughout the summer of 1998. This paper is based on interviews conducted then and subsequent interviews with people from other Coast Salish groups. In addition, local ethnographic materials—with reference to field notes whenever possible—and traditional stories were analyzed from the perspective of Coast Salish epistemology. Alternative genders need to be understood foremost in the cultural contexts in which they occur, only then can comparisons proceed from a secure foundation. Research revealed a paradoxical situation. Oral traditions in which the alternately gendered are despised, occur side-by-side with traditions in which such people were honoured for the special powers they possessed. Individuals and families operated in the space generated by this paradox, playing the "serious games" to which Ortner alludes (1996:12-13). The absence of a "master narrative" in Coast Salish culture accounts for some, but not all of these contradictions. Equally relevant are persistent patterns of secrecy, personal autonomy, kin solidarity, differential status, and differential gender flexibility that both restrict the social field and offer stress points that were, and are, manipulated in individual and collective strategies. Given a world view in which transformation was the norm, and in which the disadvantaged could become powerful overnight by revealing the power they had hidden, some alternatively gendered people were able to maximize their potential and become significant forces. No formal roles offered sanction, instead an ad hoc approach marked the response to alternative genders and the outcome rested on the position of the individual and her/his family, and their ability to maneuver within multiple constraints. It was this potential to transform a stigmatized status into an honoured role that made the position of the alternatively gendered paradoxical. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

Coal-fueled energy development in the Southwest has resulted in a controversy over claims of environmental damage and spiritual and social disruption to the Native American inhabitants of the region. Development has been supported through estimates of the economic benefits that will accrue to the Hopi and Navajo through the planned development. This research has developed a modeling approach to systematically and rationally assess the impacts of energy development on the Hopi and Navajo Tribes. The model incorporates a simulation technique that describes the Indian social systems over time with and without energy development. The variations within the system without energy development and with various levels of development allow insights into impacts. Computer control allows the model to consider many different decisions relative to energy development, and incorporated graphics allow for efficient and fast impact interpretation. The results of the model indicate that proposed impacts on the Native Americans have been exaggerated. Neither the economic impacts nor spiritual disruptions claimed are seen to occur. The model is seen to be a valuable tool for systematic analysis and the presentation of social impact information.

LD2668 .T4 1941 H41 / Master of Science

No description available.

Excavations at Turkey Creek Pueblo, a large thirteenth-century ruin in the Point of Pines region boasting approximately 335 rooms.

This thesis is an ethnographic account of how the Wapichannao, who are situated in the Rupununi of Guyana perceive themselves within the nation-state. This is also an account of how non-Amerindian Guyanese envisage Amerindians as ‘past' peoples. Hence, distinctions are made between Amerindian and non-Amerindian—us vs. them—where both identities become placed as opposite poles within a continuum. Emphasis is placed on the shifting relationships between these poles, but more specifically, the cultural paradigm through which these relationships are made possible. This paradigm, I suggest, may be understood in terms of polarities of difference, with regard to which Amerindians are constantly ambiguating/negotiating, disjoining, and resignifying notions of ‘who they are'. This thesis evidences this paradigm through an ethnography of some of those aspects of Wapichannao culture—village work, the shop, joking activity, culture shows—that are considered to be traditional on the one hand, and modern on the other. In doing so, an incongruous trend emerges, on which makes the classic imagery of Amerindian ontological homogeneity much more complex. Therefore, this thesis moves from the more traditional aspects of Wapichannao culture towards the nation-state, in order to take into account aspects of Amerindian experience absent from classic ethnographic accounts.

No description available.